Ancient Art and Ritual

JANE ELLEN HARRISON

Geoffrey Cumberlege
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON    NEW YORK    TORONTO

First published in 1913, and reprinted in 1918 (revised), 1919, 1927,1935 and 1948

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

vPREFATORY NOTE

It may be well at the outset to say clearly what is the aim of thepresent volume. The title is Ancient Art and Ritual, but the readerwill find in it no general summary or even outline of the facts ofeither ancient art or ancient ritual. These facts are easily accessiblein handbooks. The point of my title and the real gist of my argument lieperhaps in the word “and”—that is, in the intimate connection which Ihave tried to show exists between ritual and art. This connection has, Ibelieve, an important bearing on questions vital to-day, as, forexample, the question of the place of art in our modern civilization,its relation to and its difference from religion and morality; in aword, on the whole enquiry as to what the nature of art is and how itcan help or hinder spiritual life.

I have taken Greek drama as a typical instance, because in it we havethe clear historical case of a great art, which arose out of a veryprimitive and almost world-wide ritual. The rise of the Indian drama, orthe mediæval and from it the modern stage, would have told us the samevitale and served the like purpose. But Greece is nearer to us to-day thaneither India or the Middle Ages.

Greece and the Greek drama remind me that I should like to offer mythanks to Professor Gilbert Murray, for help and criticism which has faroutrun the limits of editorial duty.

J. E. H.

Newnham College,
Cambridge, June 1913.

NOTE TO THE FIFTH IMPRESSION

The original text has been reprinted without change except for thecorrection of misprints. A few additions (enclosed in square brackets)have been made to the Bibliography.

1947

viiCONTENTS